No. 16 Southern nearly pulls off Goliath upset of No. 1 Gonzaga

Mar. 21, 2013
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Gonzaga guard David Stockton (11) drives to the basket in the first half of the game against the Southern University Jaguars during the second round of the 2013 NCAA tournament at EnergySolutions Arena. / Steve Dykes, USA TODAY Sports

by Lindsay H. Jones, USA TODAY Sports

by Lindsay H. Jones, USA TODAY Sports

That much was clear as the crowd at EnergySolutions Arena stood and cheered every Southern University bucket and block and every Gonzaga missed shot and foul Thursday, as the scrappy No. 16-seeded Jaguars put a serious scare into the No. 1-seeded Bulldogs.

Gonzaga advances to play No. 9 Wichita State on Saturday.

Gonzaga escaped with a 64-58 win, thanks to a late crowd-quieting three-pointer by guard Kevin Pangos and a 21-point, 10-rebound performance from center Kelly Olynyk.

Gonzaga players lunched on barbecue pork sandwiches in a subdued winning locker room a few minutes later, relieved to have advanced to Saturday's third round.

"They played with no fear, they had nothing to lose," Pangos said of Southern. "We got caught off guard a little bit, and that's not how we want to play, but we'll learn from it heading into Saturday."

The Bulldogs, on the nation's longest winning streak (15 in a row) with Davidson stopped by Marquette, will face a Wichita State team that upset No. 8 Pittsburgh earlier Thursday 73-55, in a bruising battle that proved the Shockers the more aggressive, physical team.

"This group thinks they can beat anyone in the country, and they're not intimidated," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "They're not going to lose their confidence. â?¦ So I just feel that they can go out (Saturday) against an unbelievable Gonzaga team, a No. 1 seed, and give them a good battle."

In the teams' only meeting, in December 1994, Wichita State won in overtime 54-53.

Gonzaga players admitted they knew little about the Shockers. That was by design, coach Mark Few said, as he wanted the week spent preparing for Southern. Every bit of that preparation was needed.

"Quite frankly, I couldn't tell you the names of their bigs," Olynyk said of the Shockers. "I'm not sure who they are. Obviously they're good."

So was Southern, winner of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, playing with a confidence uncanny for a 16 seed. Southern made basket after basket in the first half, including five three-pointers, and trailed by only three points at halftime.

It's not unusual for a No. 16 seed to hang for a while in these opening-round games. But Gonzaga (32-2), a top seed for the first time in school history, just couldn't shake Southern (23-10), even as Olynyk returned to his dominant self in the second half, when he scored 17 points.

Gonzaga built an 11-point lead midway through the second half, but the Jaguars just kept shooting, just kept shooting, and drew to within 54-52 when guard Derick Beltran sank a three-pointer with 5:21 to play.

But Southern never managed to take a lead, and when Pangos drained a three right in front of the Gonzaga bench with just under two minutes to play, the Bulldogs were safe from the upset.

"Any win in the tournament is a good win," Olynyk said. "So we have to kind of take that into consideration and then move forward."

The Jaguars, meanwhile, will return home to Baton Rouge, La., with a heck of a story about the time they nearly knocked off a No. 1 seed. They will talk about seniors such as Beltran, who hit four three-pointers, or guard Jameel Grace, who had seven rebounds and four assists. But in a teary locker room, they took no consolation in almost making history.

"No one likes a loser, and unfortunately that's what we were today," Grace said.

Southern coach Roman Banks, also teary, seemed reluctant for the tournament to be over. He pledged to become a better coach from the experience, and thanked his players for a memorable season â?? not just a memorable game.

"This has been an amazing ride for us," he said. "May we learn, future Jaguars and in the locker room, that we want to make this an annual invitation."